Search - Art Ensemble of Chicago, Brass Fantasy :: Live at the Eighth Tokyo Music Joy

Lester Bowie fans take note

Allan MacInnis | Vancouver | 10/20/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is a document of a concert, primarily by the Art Ensemble of Chicago, but featuring a few cuts by Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy, and a few cuts of the combined Brass Fantasy and Art Ensemble playing together. (Of course, the late Mr. Bowie was one of the founding members of the Art Ensemble and known as their trumpeter and snappiest dresser long before he formed Brass Fantasy, so it makes sense to think of this as "primarily" an Art Ensemble release). The material is wonderful, playful, and varied, with the highest point probably being a truly New-Orleansy workout by the combined bands on "A Jackson in your House," a really goofy song from one of AECO's early BYGs. There are also some freeish moments, but Brass Fantasy were more about PoMo pastiche and twisted traditionalism than improvisation, so they tend to transform things a bit, bringing Jarman and Mitchell and Favors and Moye "in" from the "outside"... Fans know that one of the most magical things about Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy was their ability to transform a pop song you'd never be caught dead listening to into something really magical and acceptable as music. On this disk, the unexpected bit of cultural salvage is Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Music of the Night." It's really wonderful, even if you hate Webber. This is a pleasant and relatively accessible release by both bands. It has nowhere near the spiritual beauty or power that AECO show on NICE GUYS or FANFARE FOR THE WARRIORS, but it's still nice to have around."